Kristen LawrenceSenior Social Media Strategist rFactr

How to Excel at the First Rule of Engagement for Social Sales

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Successful Social Sales Engagement Starts Before Actual Communication

While participation in two-way communication is an important part of social sales, successful engagement starts long before communication with a prospect. 

To make the most impact with social selling online, sales people must excel at the first rule of engagement:

Listening.

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What social sites harbor the most conversations from your target audience.

Listening Helps You Determine:

Whether the LinkedIn, Twitter, forums, or another network

altogether, use this information to help you qualify (or disqualify) specific social media sites that

you want to spend your time engaging on.

Because above all, you want to fish where the fish are!

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Listening Helps You Determine:

Knowing the social media environment where conversations are happening is not enough.

You need to dial into the specific areas that harbor meaningful conversations, such as a specific group within

LinkedIn for example, to determine where you should be listening.

Where the conversations on each network are taking place.

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Who is talking about your industry. 

You can begin to identify prospects based on the people that are interested in your services, and also identify the thought leaders and influencers in your space with whom you should connect with.

Listening Helps You Determine:

Listen to Identify:

Net New ProspectsIndustry Leaders InfluencersBrand Advocates

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For example, are people talking favorably about your industry, or is there a common need that isn’t being fulfilled?

You can start to track common questions and topics that people are talking about and begin to identify common themes and opportunities when you are ready to join the conversation.

Listening Helps You Determine:

Trends that lead to sales opportunities.

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Take note of what your competitors are talking about on social media, who they

are connecting with, and how others are talking about them.

Note the sentiment of discussions around your their brand to gain valuable

competitive intelligence and identify possible sales opportunities.

Listening Helps You Determine:

What your competitors are doing.

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In all,

Social listening will help you find and identify prospects, discover trends, and determine what opportunities are present. You will then have the information needed to develop strategies that line up with the current state of your market.

This practice will ensure that your engagement tactics are on target and on message, giving you the greatest chance of success with your social sales efforts.

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Let’s Connect

Kristen LawrenceSenior Social Media Strategist | rFactr

www.linkedin.com/in/KristenLawrence

www.twitter.com/KristenLawrence